Don't own anything except for the characters that were created in the process of this story.
"Just for the record, it wasn't my fault we're in trouble this time." Logan says coming to a stop in front of Spencer's house.
The rental car was due back in a couple of hours or just before the dealership realized it was missing from the lot.
Alice didn't ask any questions when Logan rolled up in the black sedan all that really mattered was getting the phone before the girls learned a few things about her she rather keep buried.
Her thoughts drifted back to the picture she still kept of Ian and her at the campus barbeque.
She had once cared about him. She cared a lot in fact. Ian was popular, handsome, and confident. He would take her to restaurants, open doors for her, and shower her with gifts. She absolutely adored him. He could do no wrong in her eyes.
Alice guesses that's where she thought wrong. Ian wasn't perfect. Far from it. She found that out the hard way one night.
The night air was crisp and cool. She loved this type of weather especially after a long run through the woods. She had spoke briefly with her boyfriend of 6 months and made plans to meet him on the river bank.
So here she sat on a tree stump waiting for her beau to arrive. Two strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her to her feet. Alice turn in his arms.
"Ian where have you been?"
"I had a few things to take care of." Alice raised an eyebrow at his vague comment. He smiled that contagious smile of his and Alice couldn't help but smile with him.
"Well you're here now. Why did you want to meet here? I thought we were going to a party tonight."
"There are better things to do than go to a college frat party." Ian says taking her hand and leading her to a small cabin nearby.
Yes. Ian was not perfect much less as noble as he made himself out to be. Alice always learned the hard way and that night did not disappoint.
"Ian, stop!" She says pushing Ian back. She gets up from the small couch and proceeds to button up her shirt.
"I thought you wanted this." He says slammng his fist on the seat she just vacated.
"I'm not ready. I told you but apparently you didn't hear that." Alice grabs her purse and heads to the front door. Ian grabs her arm before she could go through the opened door.
"Don't play innocent with me. I hear what they say about you around the frat house. How you been in every backseat on campus. So don't tell me you are not ready."
"I thought you understood. I thought you were a nice guy."
"Nice guys finish last." With that statement he tugs her towards him and slams the door shut.
Her older sister had found her crying in the shower, hours later. Ian had already left having got what he came for. He wasn't noble. Monster. Ian Thomas was a monster.
Logan touches her arm making Alice flinch.
"You okay?" Logan asks trying to put aside his hurt over the reaction she had to his touch.
"Logan, I'm sorry. I thought…"
"He's gone, okay. Not coming back." Logan says suddenly realizing where her thoughts had drifted to.
"I know. Its just.."
"We don't have to get the phone. I know a guy that can wipe the phone from his computer."
"I'm not chickening out, Logan."
"Alright."
Alice opens the passenger door and makes her way to the front door. With any luck it wouldn't be Veronica Hastings that answered the door. It was awkward enough coming this late to retrieve a simple phone without adding her into the mix.
The door bell brings the girls out of their collective thoughts. Spencer is the first to make a move to the door, the others follow her down the stairs.
A pair of voices at the front door halts any further action on their part.
"Since when have you been in town?" They overhear Melissa say.
"Not long." Was Alice's short reply.
"Come in" Melissa ushers her in.
It had taken Melissa a few days for her to venture out of the barn. She still refused to talk to Spencer believing she had something to do with his disappearance.
Missing. Even that left a bitter taste in her mouth, but that was still better than the alternative. Which Spencer claimed as truth. She couldn't believe how obsessed her sister was with Ian. She was seriously considering purchasing a straight jacket and cart her off to a mental institution.
"You've must have heard the news." Melissa assumed it was the cause of her unannounced visit. "What they are saying…"
"I heard. How are you doing? Stupid question."
"No I'm okay I guess. I'd be even better if my own sister wasn't trying to ruin my life."
Alice bit back an angry retort. She wanted to avoid antagonizing her old 'friend'. It would not be beneficial to her plans.
"I'm confused how is she trying to ruin your life?"
Melissa proceeded to tell Alice her side of the long twisted story as the girls listened.
"I really appreciate you coming to see how I was doing. You've always been a really good friend to me." Melissa says hugging Alice.
"I also came by to see Spencer." Melissa pulls back at the mention of her sister's name.
"Spencer? Why would you want to speak to Spencer?"
"She gave me a ride from Rosewood high today and I…"
"You're a teacher? Since when?" Melissa asks surprised.
"I just started a few days ago."
"Oh."
Spencer takes the opportunity to walk into the room. Melissa scoffs at the sight of her sister.
"We must get together, Alice." Alice nods her head in agreement. Melissa leaves the room soon after.
"Miss Palladino."
"I came by to ask if I left my phone in your car. With everything going on I didn't realize I didn't have it with me."
"Yes." Spencer hands her the phone.
"Thank you so much." Alice says, silently hoping she doesn't ask any questions about what she might have come across while the phone was in her possession.
"You know Melissa?"
"We met in college when she was seeing Ian."
"I wanted to ask…" A car honks outside interrupting Spencer in mid question.
"That's my ride. I have to go. Thanks again. I will see you in class tomorrow." Alice says heading out the door.
Logan was a life saver. Alice was almost certain she would have asked about Ian. Logan was getting a big helping of appreciation tonight.
"Hey Ace. How did it…" Logan is caught by surprise when Alice kisses him upon entering the vehicle.
"…Go" Logan says once he catches his breath, "I'm guessing it went well."
"This is the first time I'm glad you are so impatient."
"I'm not impatient." Logan says with a pout.
"Then I won't kiss you."
Logan thinks for a moment.
"I am impatient."
Alice smirks.
Ella Montgomery was heading down the hall toward her classroom. Her students were in for a surprise test today. She enjoys watching the looks on their faces when she announces a surprise exam far more than she cared to admit. It wasn't anything different than when she was on the receiving end of a surprise exam.
Ms. Willis did tell her on the night of her graduation that giving students a surprise exam was one of the perks of being a teacher. So true.
Ella smiles as she turns the corner. It was then that she noticed a small boy peering into classrooms. She noticed his lip start to quiver, a tell tale sign he was on the verge of tears.
"Hello there." Ella says getting the young boy's attention. She kneels in front of him.
"Hi."
"Are you looking for someone?" Ella asks taking the boy's hand away from his mouth.
"My mommy."
"Who's your mommy?"
"Alice Reed." Alice Reed? Ella only knew one Alice and she surely didn't remember her mentioning she had a son much less a different last name.
"How about we go to the office and look for your mommy there?" The boy nods eagerly.
Ella leads him towards the office.
"Mommy!" The boy dashes down the hall and into the arms of Alice Palladino.
"Lucas, what are you doing here?"
"Apparently looking for his mommy." Ella says walking up to the duo. "I didn't know you had a son."
"He's been staying with my sister until things were settled here."
"Where's daddy?" Ella smiles at the young boy's enthusiam. She still remembers when her own son that age. How they grow up so fast.
"Thank you for finding him, Ella."
"No problem." Ella heads off towards her classroom.
"Daddy's working. Where is Aunt Angie?" Her phone beeps.
Outside. In front. -A.P. Leave it to Angie to always know what she's thinking.
Alice walks towards the woman standing in front of a black Tahoe. A small smile appeared on the woman's face when Alice came into view. The emotion in her eyes hidden behind dark glasses. Her hair was neatly tucked under a black baseball cap.
"Hey you." Alice says putting Lucas down.
"Long time no see?" She is pulled into a tight embrace.
"I missed you." Alice admits.
"All you really have to do is look in the mirror." The woman says pulling off the sunglasses to reveal an identical face. A mirror image.
"But wouldn't I look silly talking to a mirror."
"You were always the more self-absorbed twin."
"Yeah right. So what are you doing here, Angie?"
"Logan said he found an apartment and that I should bring Lucas. By the way, Logan told me you're staying at Ezra's apartment. Boy you work fast, sis. I'm impressed."
"Funny. Its completely platonic. I'm just crashing there until Logan can find us a place."
"Which means that your slumber party with the hunky Ezra is over." Angie receives a jab to the arm for her comment.
"Ouch only kidding. Little sister can't take a joke. "
"It was only a five minute head start, sis." Alice says referring to them being born five minutes apart.
Angie slips her sunglasses back on when she notices a group of students pass by. Alice raises her eyebrow in question of her sister's action.
"Remember Boston? Might be better if others didn't know we're twins."
"The ole switch-a-roo?"
"Apparently I'm the only one that thinks ahead."
Lucas pulls on Alice's pant leg to attract her attention.
"I want to see daddy."
"Aunt Angie will take you to see daddy." Lucas walks into Angie's open arms.
"Need anything?"
"Pick me up later?"
"Okay." Angie says nodding her head. She turns to the vehicle to help Lucas into the car seat and faces Alice once again. "Be careful, Alice."
"I will."
Spencer sat on the bench of the girls locker room, thinking.
Was Miss Palladino out to get them? Could she be A?
"Spencer?" Spencer looks up to see Emily by her locker.
"I was just thinking about the texts, the ones about Miss Palladino."
"She did all but run out of the room when you tried to ask her about the phone."
"Even then to think that she might be A…is that a stretch?"
"I don't know, Spencer."
Angie never really hated anyone. Sure she had 'hated' her parents when she didn't get her way, but that was different. It was only teenage hate and like her teenage years they came and went. It wasn't really hate.
Years had passed since then and she only really hated one person. Ian Thomas.
She hated him for is cocky 'no one can touch me' attitude. She hated him for his playboy masked by his golden boy persona. She hated him for ever thinking he was the hottest guy on campus. But most of all she hated him for what he did to her sister.
Even though five years had passed since that night she found her sister curled up in the shower, she still hated him. Hated him with such a fury that she wished she had taken him out.
Was she even capable of cold blooded murder? If all the psychology classes she had taken in college was any indication, then yes, anyone was capable of murder.
Angie looked down at the lump of dirt in front of her. The words her mother always told her came to mind.
No one leaves this earth without paying for the things they've done.
Ian Thomas paid in spades what he had done to Alice and apparently what he had done to countless other girls throughout his miserable existence. Even with Ian Thomas dead and buried in a shallow grave. Her sister seemed ill at ease. That was something she picked up on immediately during their earlier conversation.
Her sister was worried or tortured by something and she highly doubt it was the demise of Ian Thomas.
So what was bothering her? In previous phone conversations she mentioned she was close to finding out what led to their sister's disappearance. For some reason she avoided talk of wanting to find the lost Palladino.
Did Alice already know where their sister was? Being that her journey and led them both to Rosewood, Pennsylvania. The town where their sister was last seen.
She kicked the dirt. Alice would have never dated Ian had she not been so vulnerable. Believing he was her knight in shining armor.
No matter how much she tried to tell her it was not her fault. Alice continue to believe she was guilty. And the so called fans of Alice were so quick to judge her the second the youngest Palladino went missing. She didn't care much for wishy washy people and those that convicted or condemn others for what seemed to be true. Angie, to this day, believed nothing was ever as it seems. Some people were just clueless to that fact. And it bothered her. True friendship and love was not conditional. You either believed them or you didn't. It was not a game of friendship on the condition that the person does not make you look bad. Angie cited this as the reason her twin sister fell head over heels for Ian.
Alice's confidence was down. Her common sense weak. Easy prey for the low-life, good for nothing weasel, Ian Thomas.
Yes it was true that she hated him. Hated him with a fury and fire that could be quenched with water. Hated him so intensely that the fires of hell would not be enough for this abomination. Because that's what he was…an abomination. No matter what anyone said. No matter that there were those like Melissa Hastings that believed the contrary.
Melissa was just another lemming Ian Thomas had found to follow him blindly over a cliff. So matter how smart she claimed to be. Love turned Melissa Hastings into a lemming.
Angie's thoughts migrated to her own twin sister.
Why was she teaching at that school of all places? Her daily phone conversations with her twin did not explain her motives.
"I hate it when she keeps secrets."
There had always been an understanding between the two that nothing would go unsaid. No secrets between them. This was not only about knowing every little detail about each other's interactions with other people in the event that had to switch places. It was about being each other's confidant. Each other's best friend. Just like it had been since birth.
Something was up. She needed to find out. Alice had to answer her questions. Angie was not going to let her carry that burden alone.
The snap of a branch and the scurry of feet alerted Angie to someone eavesdropping nearby.
Angie adjusted her sunglasses. Whoever was lurking nearby hopefully had not had the chance to get a good look at her face.
Whoa! Where did that come from? It must have been due in part to the song I was listening to at the time I was finishing up the chapter, 'You can't break a broken Heart" by Kate Voegele. Its a great song I came across by accident on youtube. Well I hope you enjoy the newest chapter. Please review! I look forward to your comments I really do. I'm hoping to reach at least 30 reviews by chapter 5. A lofty ambition, but oh well. Thanks to everyone that has reviewed. Answer me the following questions in the review: Who do you think this mystery person is and what are Alice's true intentions?
Until Next time
Ancient85